First Class

New just-for-fun adult education courses

Okay, so that ridiculous resolution might not have panned out quite like you hoped, but there’s still time to make a positive case for the new year. Keep your self-improvement general--say, by simply trying to broaden your knowledge base--and we guarantee you’ll find your resolution easier (and more pleasant) to achieve.

It’s a daylong event series where you can sign up for as many as five hour-increment lectures given by professors from world-class institutions like Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Vassar. Topics include everything from neuroscience and political history to philosophy and music theory. There are no tests or grades--just a lighthearted spirit of learning something you might not have known.

Although the program has been around since 2006, this year includes new half-day intensives in particular subjects--like World War II on January 13 ($149) or art history (Picasso, Mozart and Hitchcock specifically) on March 9 ($149). But if you’re up for the whole shebang, the next traditional event is on April 21 ($239).